These are the college football's two power brokers. One league plays the best football these days. The other has the Rose Bowl, the prime-time ABC games and is based in a region that produces people who sound like Dick Enberg.

Both leagues -- some of their followers, at least -- probably resent each other to some degree for what the other has.

We wouldn't have you believe that, though. Wouldn't be good for business.

The SEC brass is trending toward having the top four teams in the playoff, regardless of conference affiliation. This is the SEC's way of making sure its West Division runner-up (BCS national champion Alabama last season) isn't automatically excluded.

The Big Ten would prefer to mostly reward conference champions, giving its own members a better shot at being invited to the party.

This is both sides protecting their own interests. It's to be expected.

The problem is we're making their respective interests sound mutually exclusive. In reality, the Big Ten isn't saying ONLY league champions should be included. It's simply saying SOME league champions should automatically be in the four-team bracket.

"Big Ten commissioner Jim Delaney has said the new format shouldn't include a team that doesn't win its conference division -- an obvious reference to national champion and SEC West runner-up Alabama," the AP wrote.

AP PhotoBig Ten commissioner Jim Delany supports a four-team college football playoff, but he'd like it to, in part, reward major conference champions.

Delany spoke to members of the media for more than an hour over two days in Chicago earlier this month. Here's some of what he actually said:

"Last year, Alabama is No. 1 all through the season, makes sense that they're a 1 or 2 opponent, but then they don't play in their championship or win it -- I think that's another one that's looked at. I'm not saying that's good or bad. I don't want to get into that debate.

"One scenario would be to take the three highest-ranked conference champions, and then have some flexibility with that fourth spot, where the next-highest-rated team could come in. That's one opportunity, one option that on the surface makes a lot of sense to me."

Mostly, Delany talked about transparency in arriving at whatever system is chosen (on that front, we'll know much more after the BCS conference commissioners meet June 20 in Chicago).

Nowhere did Delany say the Crimson Tide -- perhaps more clearly last season's best team than any in recent BCS history -- shouldn't have had a chance to be selected.

Former Michigan State coach Nick Saban, now in charge at Alabama, was among the throng of SEC coaches Tuesday not in favor of an all-conference champion playoff; it doesn't seem as if anyone asked about the Big Ten's actual ideas.

"It's just like politics and self-interest," Saban told the AP. "Somebody wants to create a circumstance that's going to help their situation or conference. That's not in the best interest of college football."

No one is proposing that -- other than perhaps reporters losing facts in translation somewhere between Illinois and Tennessee.